Chapter Forty-Three: Rising Storm

  I didn't say a word, only a bitter smile was left. This thunder wasn't something I could just talk my way out of. The master didn't want to bring it up again either. But when he looked at me, his eyes kept flickering, and suddenly he said: "You said that some days ago you had come to investigate the three corpses carrying coffins?"

  "Not bad, there were indeed three Taoist priests who came, but they didn't come together, instead they came separately over a period of several days. Two of them were from the Mao Shan sect and one was from the Lao Shan sect. Unfortunately, none of them returned. One of them I think is definitely not weaker than you, Master, so please don't be careless." The yin soul sighed as he mentioned those three Taoist priests, originally thinking that they could solve the problem, but in the end, there wasn't even a single sound after they went in.

  The master didn't say a word, but was dazed and seemed to be thinking about something. After a moment, he said in a low voice: "Is there an old Taoist who is quite thin, not tall, with a goatee, and always wears a Taoist robe?"

  "There is one, that Taoist priest has a very high cultivation, unfortunately after going down there was no movement —" The yin soul said with regret, that Taoist priest is not inferior to my master.

  He let out a wry smile, and Master shook his head: "It's the Ziyang True Person of Laoshan Taoism. In terms of cultivation, he is far superior to me. Just a few days ago, we met and even had a drink together. Who would have thought that after parting ways that day, it would be eternal separation? If so, it seems that in order to deal with the Three Corpses Coffin, several elderly masters from our sect must take action."

  He glanced at me, and a cold glint flashed in Master's eyes: "If I'm not mistaken, the three of them, including Zi Yang Zhen Ren, are probably already being devoured by San Shi. I once read a record in a Taoist scripture that before San Shi succeeds, it will use its devouring ability to absorb the blood, flesh, and spiritual energy of its victims to strengthen its own power. In the past, the Demon God Chi You used San Shi to devour the Rain Master, the Mermaid, and dozens of high-ranking experts from the five tribes. Later on, except for a few powerful gods, no one could restrain him anymore. It wasn't until the final battle between Huang Di and Chi You that Huang Di, with the help of the gods, was able to strangle Chi You, but still didn't truly kill him. Instead, he used the Qian Kun Nine Tripods to seal Chi You away."

  The master's words were heavy, who knows how far this three-corpse coffin bearer has gone, if one day it really cultivates into a demon god, then even the gathered practitioners of the world will not be enough to contend with it, that would truly be the end of the world. Therefore, it must be eliminated before it becomes a threat, but it's easier said than done.

  The yin souls were also silent for a moment, but their thoughts had already been conveyed. Once the news spread, it was no longer under their control. It's better to have less entanglement with these virtuous scholars, but there's still one more thing. Seeing Master wondering what he was thinking about, the yin soul hesitated again: "Daozhang, we have another request. Now that this place has been built into a building, it will bury our misfortune and bean sprouts here. I would like to ask Daozhang for help, collect our corpses, find us a quiet place, and we can no longer stay here."

  The master nodded and said in a low voice, "Everyone can rest assured, this matter will be handed over to us, but we still need to trouble you to reveal a clue at the right time, so that we can find our way. As long as it can be found, we will definitely find a good place for everyone."

  "Then thank you, Master Dao. We can now rest assured that our great kindness and virtue will be repaid in the next life. With this settled, we can reincarnate and be reborn." The yin spirits all bowed to their master, their wishes fulfilled, and then urged on by the black fog, they sank into the ground. The area once again returned to calm, it seemed that tonight there would be no more changes.

  After the yin soul retreated, Master sighed and said, "It's really a troublesome autumn." But immediately his face turned serious, and he gave me a signal: "Let's get rid of the yin energy first. At least we can prevent San Shi from advancing with the coffin."

  As soon as the voice fell, my master and I didn't hesitate, and we arrived at the side of the Seven Stars Walking Array. My master asked me to guard the Greedy Wolf Star position, while he stood in the Broken Army position. Then, with both hands clasped together in a lotus shape, he suddenly let out a loud shout, biting his tongue and spitting a mouthful of blood onto the red rope. With a sudden lift of his foot, he forcefully kicked downwards. This kick seemed to trigger something, and instantly a surge of yin energy rushed up from the direction of the water pool, but it didn't burst out of the ground. Instead, it came rushing over from beneath the surface. At first glance, it looked like a black dragon was charging towards us.

  The master didn't dare to move, watching as the black air approached. He suddenly jumped up and leapt to one side, but still couldn't avoid it in time. The black air struck him again, and he was unable to land on his feet. Instead, he landed headfirst, upside down, with a thud on the ground, letting out an involuntary cry of pain. I saw everything, but didn't dare move, or else all our efforts would have been for nothing. All I could do was let the master take a tumble and end up in a humiliating position.

  Dark energy surged into the Seven Star Walking Hole Array, causing the entire ground to shake. The red rope was pulled taut, as if something inside was about to burst out, and it seemed like it was about to snap at any moment. I was shocked in my heart, how could I still dare to hesitate? I bit the tip of my tongue, and suddenly spat a mouthful onto the red rope. The red rope flashed with a faint golden light, but then immediately dimmed again. Obviously, this was still not enough. If I couldn't suppress the yin energy, then this powerful yin energy would burst out from under my feet, and if things went wrong, it would blast me to death.

  At this point, I didn't dare to delay any longer, and hurriedly clasped my hands together, desperately reciting the Nine-Character True Word Incantation. My fingers were strained to the breaking point, and fresh blood dripped onto the red cord, imbuing it with the spiritual power of the incantation. However, I could only barely hold on, as the yin energy continued to surge in relentlessly. Master finally came to from his daze, clearly having been severely injured earlier, with a trace of blood at the corner of his mouth - a sign that he had been wounded by the yin energy. I didn't know if Master would still be able to open up that gap; if not, this surge of yin energy would explode right here, and I feared that my master and I would perish before we could even complete our mission.

  But this is not something I can control, and all I can do is hope that the master will hurry up. However, although the master has stood up, his face looks somewhat bitter, and he can no longer walk over with ease. He walks unsteadily, swaying back and forth, and after finally making it to the front of the giant gate, he suddenly spits out a mouthful of blood. Seeing this, I realize that he doesn't have the energy to continue on, and all he can do is pant heavily, gasping for air. What's going to happen now?

  Before I could think much, a surge of yin energy burst forth and had already entered my body. The red cord was also churning violently, and it seemed about to break open at any moment. My master's and my faces both changed color. My master's face turned red as he made the Five Thunder Seal with his hands, but no matter how hard he tried to stimulate the spiritual energy, there wasn't much response, and we were unable to open up that gap after all. The magnitude of the yin energy had already completely exceeded my master's imagination. Could it be that my master and I would not be able to escape this calamity?

  At this moment, perhaps feeling my despair, the little man slipped out of my ear and fell beside Master, imitating me to chant the nine-character mantra. However, his hand gestures changed quickly, and with a loud thud, he stomped on the ground, causing a burst of yin energy to erupt from below. The yin energy surged and swirled, lifting the little man into the air, but he didn't seem to be struggling much, still able to spin around at will. But that's not all - unfortunately, Master was once again knocked out by the yin energy and fell to the ground in a most ungraceful manner.

  But then the little man conjured up a dark energy that burst forth like a black dragon roaring, yet the little man stood at the dragon's head, still calm and composed. He gazed intently as the scene shifted, and with a sudden stomp on the dragon's head, he landed on the ground. The dark dragon dissipated into the earth, leaving only a muffled sound, before bursting out of the sewer drain. The entire surface was transformed, as if plowed and excavated, yet it didn't collapse. Countless dark energies flowed out from the manhole, and the Seven Stars Walking Array seemed to be like a whale sucking water, continuously drawing out the dark energies.

  The great task is accomplished, the little man proudly walked around the Seven Star Array with his head held high, feeling like nothing was wrong. He then swaggered back, not seeing anything out of place, and slipped back into my ear, disappearing without a trace. From start to finish, it only took a short while, but during that time, I experienced life and death transformations, and even I didn't know what happened. However, the array has been opened, and I'm too weak to sit on the ground powerlessly.

  It wasn't until then that Zhang Jianchen and the others dared to rush over, adding up to Master, and went to a nearby grassland. Zhang Jianhua followed me and came over to support me as I also rushed over. It was only then that I saw Master's injuries were not light, he couldn't be said to be on his last breath, but he didn't have any spirit either, his face was pale, yet there was a hint of red on his face.

  "Master, what's wrong with you?" I looked at Master's face worriedly, but unfortunately, I didn't have the strength to move.

  "Not dead yet, really underestimated the evil spirit, almost lost my life." The master coughed and shook his head with a bitter smile, although weak, fortunately not seriously injured.

  Master is fine, I can also be at ease. However, things are not over yet. As soon as my words fell, I heard Sun Chuanming exclaim: "Look, how could this be?"

  Startled by Sun Chuanming, we involuntarily looked in the direction he pointed, and saw that where the yin energy had passed, all the plants on the ground had withered and died, forming a black death zone. All the grass and small trees were like they had been scorched by the sun, dark and lifeless.

  However, the master didn't mind, and just snorted: "What a fuss over nothing. This is just a normal reaction to the passage of yin energy. Heaven and earth, all things are divided into yin and yang. Solitary yang does not last, solitary yin does not grow. Whether it's humans, animals, or plants, everything with life has its own yin and yang. Only when yin and yang are balanced can they live normally. Now that the yin energy is too strong, the balance of yin and yang will inevitably be disrupted. If you dare to go over, you'll become a dead person too."

  Everyone couldn't help but swallow their saliva, luckily Zhang Jianchen and the others had just rescued us, otherwise my master and I would have become corpses. Looking at these withered grasses and small trees, wouldn't we also turn into dark and lifeless bodies? Just thinking about it is terrifying, and can't help but shake one's head. But can things really end like this? Wouldn't the three corpses carrying coffins feel anything after venting their yin energy?